1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to providing context information for emergency calls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telecommunication carriers are required by government regulations to provide emergency calling services to their customers. In the United States and Canada, 9-1-1 is the official emergency phone number that callers can dial in order to reach dispatch personnel at public safety answering points (PSAP). When a caller dials 911 from a telephone, the call is routed by a carrier to receiving equipment at a PSAP facility. A dispatcher at the facility answers the call and assists the caller with their emergency.
Often times, dispatchers must dispatch first responder personnel to the scene of an emergency to render assistance to callers. In the past, dispatchers had to ask a caller for his location. Over time, most telecommunication carriers developed the capability to automatically determine the location of landline callers. For instance, landline callers can be located based on their phone number. In the case of broadband voice calls, callers can be located based on the identity of their broadband equipment.
Most carriers have also implemented solutions for determining the location of mobile callers. In the prior art, wireless carriers have employed several different solutions to locate callers in need of emergency service, such as providing the location of the cell tower servicing a call to a PSAP. In another example, wireless carriers employ triangulation techniques to pinpoint the location of a caller. In yet another example, mobile devices with global position system (GPS) capability provide their GPS coordinates to the carrier, and in turn, to the PSAP.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided to illustrate how a caller location is determined in the prior art in the event of an emergency service call. In FIG. 1, communication network 100 includes caller 101, carrier network 120, emergency service network 130, location determination system 140, and response personnel 102. Caller 101 is in communication with carrier network 120. Carrier network 120 is coupled to both emergency service network 130 and location determination system 140. Emergency service network 130 is in communication with response personnel 102.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram that illustrates the operation of communication network 100. As shown in FIG. 2, caller 101 places an emergency call to carrier network 120. Typically, caller 101 would dial 9-1-1 in order to place the call.
In most cases, the device used by the caller 101 transmits a caller identification, such as the phone number associated with the calling device, to carrier network 120. Carrier network 120 receives the emergency call and transfers a key request to location determination system 140. The key request includes the caller identification.
Location determination system 140 processes the request to select a key that will be used going forward to identify the call. Location determination system 140 returns a key response to carrier network 120 indicating the key. Location determination system 140 also stores the caller identification in association with the key for later queries by other systems.
Carrier network 120 then transfers signaling to emergency service network 130 to connect the call. The signaling typically includes the key. Upon receiving the call and the signaling, emergency service network 130 transfers a location query to location determination system 140. The location query indicates the key. Location determination system 140 processes the key to determine the caller identification associated with the key.
Having determined the caller identification, location determination system 140 processes the caller identification to determine the location of caller 101, such as by employing GPS, triangulation, or other such location schemes. Location determination system 140 then returns a query response to emergency service network 130 that indicates the location of caller 101. A dispatcher radios or otherwise communicates the location of caller 101 to response personnel 102 responding to the emergency.
While communication network 100 includes location determination capabilities, dispatchers in emergency service network 130 have no ability to seamlessly obtain and transfer other contextual information to the first responders. A dispatcher may be able to verbally obtain contextual information from the caller, or from a third party service, and then relay that information to response personnel.
Unfortunately, obtaining context information verbally is time consuming and error prone. Both callers and first responders are placed at risk by this problem. For example, callers may not receive the care they need if erroneous information is relayed to the response personnel. Requiring dispatchers to obtain and relay such information is also inefficient and limits dispatchers from assisting on other calls. First responders may encounter a situation that—if not adequately prepared or informed via accurate and timely context information—may endanger their own health and safety.